The identification of speech and language problems in elementary school: Diagnosis and co-occurring needs

Abstract

These results raise questions about whether children's language needs at age 11 are recognised in schools. The extent of co-occurrence challenges the way diagnostic categories should be used and supports the value of profiling of dimensions of need.

Early Risk Factors and Emotional Difficulties in Children at Risk of Developmental Language Disorder: A Population Cohort Study

“…It was also of note that there was an increased rate of poverty in the rDLD group when compared to the GP group. This reflects this wider literature showing decreased language ability in children of low-SES parents (B. Hart & Risley, 1995) and more recent literature showing poverty is a predictor of speech, language, and communication needs within the educational system (Dockrell & Hurry, 2018;Lindsay & Strand, 2016). This significant finding is of importance regarding our rDLD classification, although we are in line with the recent recommendations not to exclude children from a diagnosis dependent on environmental factors (Bishop et al, 2016).…”

“…Previous work with MCS has investigated the relationship between age 3 language ability and conduct problems and prosocial behavior at the age of 5 years (Girard, Pingault, Doyle, Falissard, & Tremblay, 2016a, 2016b. Language ability and parental concerns of language difficulties at the age of 5 years have been shown to be a risk factor for special educational needs related to speech, language, and communication needs later in development in this sample (Dockrell & Hurry, 2018). As mentioned previously, Forrest et al (2018) found that peer problems partially mediated the increased emotional difficulties found in children at risk of DLD.…”

What Drives Educational Support for Children With Developmental Language Disorder or Autism Spectrum Disorder: Needs, or Diagnostic Category?

“…Children with DLD and those with ASD raise particular levels of concern, albeit for different reasons. For children with DLD there have been concerns about identification (Dockrell and Hurry, 2018) and provision of additional speech and language therapy (Ebbels et al, 2019), while for those with ASD concerns have been raised about managing behavior (Lindsay et al, 2013) and support for difficulties in social communication (Roberts and Simpson, 2016). For both groups of children, the need for additional support, the manner in which this support is provided, the scarcity of trained professionals to work with pupils, and the limited evidence base underpinning effective interventions have raised concerns among researchers, professionals, and parents.…”

Ethnic Disproportionality in the Identification of High-Incidence Special Educational Needs: A National Longitudinal Study Ages 5 to 11

“…The ECLS-K 1998/99 eighth-grade SEN outcomes were drawn from 2006–2007, some 13 years ago, and more recent data would be of interest. Finally, many longitudinal surveys, at least in England, rely on parental report of SEN, often retrospectively, and this presents substantial challenges of under- and misreporting compared with administrative data (see Dockrell & Hurry, 2018). In summary, there is a need for a study using pupil-level data drawn from contemporary administrative records for a whole population.…”